Jacob Bornstein1, Mario Preti2, James A Simon3, Sawsan As-Sanie4, Colleen K Stockdale5, Amy Stein6, Sharon J Parish7, Gianluigi Radici2, Pedro Vieira-Baptista8, Caroline Pukall9, Micheline Moyal-Barracco10, Andrew Goldstein11. 1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Galilee Medical Center and Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, Nahariya, Israel. 2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Torino, Torino, Italy. 3. IntimMedicine Specialists and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, George Washington University, Washington, DC. 4. Consultative Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. 5. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. 6. Beyond Basics Physical Therapy Midtown, New York, NY. 7. Departments of Clinical Psychiatry and Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division, New York, NY. 8. Hospital Lusíadas Porto and Unidade de Tracto Genital Inferior, Serviço de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia, Centro Hospitalar de São João, Porto, Portugal. 9. Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. 10. Tarnier-Cochin Hospital, Department of Dermatology, Paris, France. 11. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Center for Vulvovaginal Disorders, Washington, DC.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Three scientific societies, the International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease (ISSVD), the International Society for the Study of Women Sexual Health (ISSWSH), and the International Pelvic Pain Society (IPPS) developed the "2015 ISSVD, ISSWSH, and IPPS Consensus Terminology and Classification of Persistent Vulvar Pain and Vulvodynia" (referred to as the "2015 consensus terminology").The terminology included 11 descriptors of vulvodynia. However, the definitions of the descriptors were not included in the 2015 consensus terminology publications. The objective of this article was to provide these definitions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The ISSVD led a discussion on the definitions for the 11 vulvodynia descriptors, with participation from the ISSWSH and IPPS. The definitions were created through a consensus process. RESULTS: The definitions are described and the rationale for their choice is elucidated. CONCLUSIONS: The definitions of vulvodynia descriptors were determined by a multistaged process of discussion among health care providers with expertise in the pathophysiology, evaluation, and treatment of vulvodynia. The definitions were approved by the ISSVD, ISSWSH, and IPPS. It is recommended that these definitions of vulvodynia descriptors as well as the 2015 consensus terminology be used for the classification of vulvodynia.
OBJECTIVES: Three scientific societies, the International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease (ISSVD), the International Society for the Study of Women Sexual Health (ISSWSH), and the International Pelvic Pain Society (IPPS) developed the "2015 ISSVD, ISSWSH, and IPPS Consensus Terminology and Classification of Persistent Vulvar Pain and Vulvodynia" (referred to as the "2015 consensus terminology").The terminology included 11 descriptors of vulvodynia. However, the definitions of the descriptors were not included in the 2015 consensus terminology publications. The objective of this article was to provide these definitions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The ISSVD led a discussion on the definitions for the 11 vulvodynia descriptors, with participation from the ISSWSH and IPPS. The definitions were created through a consensus process. RESULTS: The definitions are described and the rationale for their choice is elucidated. CONCLUSIONS: The definitions of vulvodynia descriptors were determined by a multistaged process of discussion among health care providers with expertise in the pathophysiology, evaluation, and treatment of vulvodynia. The definitions were approved by the ISSVD, ISSWSH, and IPPS. It is recommended that these definitions of vulvodynia descriptors as well as the 2015 consensus terminology be used for the classification of vulvodynia.